No Play Without Passport

School Sports Out For Students Who Fail Tests

May 29, 1992|By RON SHAWGO Daily Press

RICHMOND — Students who have not passed the Literacy Passport test would not be allowed to play high school sports and state education officials would play a bigger role in remediating students who fail the tests, under recommendations made Thursday to the state Board of Education.

Earl S. Gillespie, executive director of the Virginia High School League - which governs high school sports and competition in other areas such as debate, forensics and journalism - said the organization would abide by the board's decision.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Saturday, May 30, 1992. A headline on Friday's Local section front incorrectly stated students who fail the Literacy Passport test will not be able to play high school sports. The restriction has been recommended to the state Board of Education but has not yet been approved.

The board is expected to vote on the measures next month.

The plan to strengthen the Passport program was recommended by Joseph A. Spagnolo Jr., who as superintendent of public instruction heads the Department of Education.

His proposals include increasing the state's role in monitoring the progress of Passport failures, forcing localities to tailor remediation programs to individual students' needs and giving students a diagnostic fourth-grade test to identify likely Passport failures.

Clearly, the most controversial of Spagnolo's recommendations was the question of eligibility for high school sports.

``There are people who can go to college and graduate from college but who would have dropped out in the eighth grade if they couldn't play sports,'' said board member Martha V. Pennino.

``We believe athletics and activities will keep these students in school who would otherwise drop out,'' said the VHSL's Gillespie.

But Henry Johnson, a Norfolk history teacher and spokesman for a Hampton Roads program for aspiring school administrators, said the group, which includes three coaches, wholeheartedly endorses Spagnolo's recommendation.

``We found that many of our students are only concerned about becoming eligible to play sports,'' he said.

The Passport, a battery of tests measuring math, writing and reading skills, is given annually to sixth-graders. If they fail one or more tests, students are given annual chances to pass.

Some Passport critics said the test is a hollow standard that the state did little to help students meet. Although schools are required to give remedial help to those who failed the test, the state has provided little guidance or money to address those needs. Some also complained that giving the test in the sixth grade was too late to help needy students.

Although Spagnolo said Thursday that the Passport was well ``conceived and educationally sound,'' he acknowledged that it was ``ambiguous in its implementation'' and had several problems that were never addressed when it was adopted in 1987. Spagnolo, who was named department head shortly after the first test was given in 1990, said he didn't know why so many questions went unanswered back then.

``We obviously have not hit upon what to do with these student who don't pass it,'' said board President James P. Jones. ``Nobody really knew three years ago, I guess, what would happen. I guess the hope was it would be a real insignificant number of children.''

State officials estimate that 13 or 14 percent of the current eighth-grade class has not passed the test. Spagnolo estimated Thursday that as many as 6,500 eighth-graders might not have earned their ``passport'' during testing this spring. Those results have not yet been released.

Spagnolo's recommendations for the Passport would:

* Direct schools to administer the test in the fall for students who were absent or transferred into a Virginia school after the regular spring testing.

* Direct schools to develop ``individual alternative programs'' for students who do not pass all three portions in the sixth grade. Such a program would address a student's ``emotional, psychological, health and educational needs'' and identify programs available to address those needs.

* Direct schools to document the action to be taken to help eighth-graders who have not passed the Passport.

* Direct the Department of Education to study and promote remedial programs that have been successful in helping students pass the test.